'Have you ever been married Agent Todd?'
Tony glanced at Kate, feeling Gibbs shift in the chair beside him. He saw a flicker of something pass through her eyes, saw her twist her hands tightly in her lap.
'Yes, I was,' Kate replied softly. Tony felt his eyes widen.
'Then you know how it is. Picking up after them.'
'It always starts at the front door,' Kate joked weakly, giving the distraught woman a watery smile.
Tony watched Kate as she typed relentlessly away at her computer, finishing up the report that Gibbs had requested from each of them.
'How come you never told me you were married?' Tony asked. Kate's fingers stilled for a brief moment before once again hacking away at the keyboard. Her strokes this time seemed to be more vicious.
'It never came up,' Kate answered shortly, her tone warning. Tony, of course, plowed ahead.
'I mean, it's a well-known fact that Gibbs has been married three times.'
'Well I'm not like Gibbs, am I?' Kate retorted sweetly, though the venom underlying her voice turned it sour.
'I thought we were friends. Friends share,' Tony informed her, getting up from his seat. He casually stood in front of her desk, his eyes on her as she dutifully kept her eyes trained on the computer screen.
'Kate-' Tony tried when she failed to reply.
'God Tony!' Kate said loudly. 'I was married. I was. As in the past tense.'
'Why? Did he find out-'
'He's dead,' Kate hissed, her eyes hard and her knuckles turning white as she gripped her desk.
'What?' Tony asked her, in disbelief.
'I had to bury my husband. It's not something I like to discuss. Now can you please just leave me alone?' Kate's voice was almost pleading.
Tony regarded the woman in front of him. She had managed to get under his skin since she had arrived on the team. Sure, she was beautiful. But while other women seemed to fall at his feet, Kate always appeared to be resistant to the DiNozzo charm.
'I'm sorry Kate,' Tony said softly. He thought he saw her dark eyes glisten. His hand reached out to touch her shoulder. He felt her stiffen before relaxing.
'Yeah,' she simply said. She turned to face him, her mouth curved slightly upwards.
'He was lucky,' he told her, before he could stop himself. He saw surprise cloud her features for a moment before softening into a genuine smile.
'You better get that report done before Gibbs-'
'Why is it he always hits me? He ruffled McGee's hair. Ruffled!' Tony acquiesced to her, keeping his tone light and exasperated.
Seeing her try to come up with a witty rejoinder, Tony couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be married to Kate Todd.
And that thought, more than anything else, scared him.